A John Deere Publication

Two people serving trays of food to two others at a food bank

"Food bankers optimize the large-scale delivery of vital nutrition from farmers, retailers, and others to those experiencing hunger," says Laura Eberlin.

Agriculture, Education March 01, 2024

Fighting Food Insecurity

Getting food to the hungry takes a global approach.

Today, growers produce enough food for the planet. The challenge is getting it to the right tables.

Even though crop and meat production have nearly doubled in the last 20 years, the number of people going hungry is only growing, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization. People don't experience hunger because the world's growers don't produce enough; they experience hunger because they don't have equitable access to food.

Food insecurity is a global challenge—and it's one the John Deere Foundation is stepping up to address. The foundation is directing its work to helping achieve the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, including "zero hunger" by 2030.

According to the World Food Programme, one-third of all food grown is waste—roughly 1.3 billion tons worth about $1 trillion USD annually. As wasted food rots, carbon emissions rise. Enter food banking networks, a powerful way to reduce food waste and divert it from landfills, reducing greenhouse gas emissions. The John Deere Foundation supports the Global Food Banking Network (GFN) in its work to accelerate food distribution by uniting food banks across the globe. In 2021, 39 million people across 44 countries relied on GFN member food banks for meals.

"By investing in food banks around the world, we create new and more equitable distribution channels for food," says Laura Eberlin, Global Social Responsibility Lead for John Deere. "GFN's mission is important to John Deere," Eberlin adds, "because one of the ways we can honor our growers and ranchers is to make sure everything they grow and raise for human consumption is used." ‡